Found Again
by lemonsmania
Summary: Ram asks a question one night, and Aravis attempts to answer it.


**So, this story was based on my curiosity of how Aravis and Cor would react to the Kings and Queens disappearing. I had a longer piece in the works that ended up getting scrapped, but I still wanted to use the idea. I recently had Ram added to the character list and wanted to try writing him out. I couldn't really think of how to do so though, so I ended up doing young, toddler-age Ram. Toddlers are always very curious and ask a lot of questions, so this little fic was the result. Enjoy.**

"Mama," said the young Prince Ram at bedtime one night. "Why are the Narnians so sad?" Aravis looked down at her tiny child, buried beneath his blankets. His large eyes blinked up at her. She sighed. This was not a new question, but she had put off answering it. Taking a deep breath, she decided now was the time to do so.

"Because they've lost their Kings and Queens."

"Lost?"

"They went missing a long time ago. Disappeared, without a word."

"Why?"

"No one knows why, Ram. They vanished."

"No, why are they sad that they're lost?" Aravis looked at her son, unsure of how to answer.

"They were…special. They weren't quite like anyone else."

"How were they special?" He removed his hand from under the covers, and Aravis took it, latching her pinky with his. It was something they'd taken to doing, with no real explanation for it. It was comforting, somehow, to both of them.

"Well…do you remember how I told you that it always used to be winter in Narnia?" He nodded. "That was because an evil witch made it that way. But around the time I was born, the Kings and Queens came, from another world."

"Another world?" Ram squeaked, confused by the concept.

"Yes. No one really knew how they got here. But they were from another place, Spare Oom. And the Kings and Queens rescued everyone from that evil witch, with the help of Aslan."

"Aslan!" he gasped. Ram had heard many stories of Aslan. The tales of the Great Lion always left him awestruck. Aravis smiled at her son's gaping mouth.

"Yes, Aslan. So then, after getting rid of the bad witch, they became Kings and Queens. There were four of them. Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy. They were all very nice and very good. They were excellent rulers of the country. Everyone loved them. So that's why they were devastated when they disappeared. They still haven't recovered from the loss."

"Did you know them?" His other hand had now come out from the blankets, and his thumb had gone into his mouth, a habit that Aravis was trying to get him to break. She smiled sadly at him, pulling his hand into her lap.

"Only for a little while. They left only a bit more than a year after I met them. But they were the best people I've ever known."

"Except for Daddy?"

"Yes, except for Daddy," she gave a small laugh. "Your father loved them as well. As did your Uncle. He knew them for much longer than we did. He was heartbroken when they left. They were some of his closest friends." Aravis remembered the tears Corin had shed. It was perhaps the most vulnerable she had ever seen him. Peter was a teacher to him, Susan a mother, Edmund a brother, and Lucy a playmate. It hit him harder than anyone else when they went missing. Every year on that day he stayed in his room, refusing to see anyone, even Cor.

"Did you love them?" Ram's question took her by surprise. But before she could respond, a voice from behind spoke for her.

"Yes. We did." Aravis turned to see her husband standing in the doorway. His blue eyes crinkled with his smile lines, and he walked over and sat beside Aravis on the bed. "And we miss them very much." He leaned down and gave Ram a hug, who eagerly hugged his father back. He then kissed Aravis' temple. "I'm going to retire for the night." He stood, and Aravis gave him a little wave, trying to ignore the silver hairs that were creeping under the blond ones. He was working much too hard lately. Aravis turned to Ram, who was attempting to stifle a yawn.

"Well, that's enough storytelling for tonight." She leaned forward and kissed his forehead. "Now sleep, little prince." After putting out the candle that was the only source of light in the room, she went to leave. But before she could close the door, she heard Ram speak once again.

"Mama, you said they're lost?"

"Yes, I did."

"Well, aren't lost things always found again?" Aravis stopped, but before she could think of a response, Ram had already fallen fast asleep, leaving her with unsaid words.


End file.
